Two prizes of $3,500 each, two gift certificates for two-year memberships to the literary database Duotrope, and publication on the Winning Writers website are given annually...
read moreWriting Contests, Grants & Awards
The Writing Contests, Grants & Awards database includes details about the creative writing contests—including poetry contests, short story competitions, essay contests, awards for novels, and more—that we’ve published in Poets & Writers Magazine during the past year. We carefully review the practices and policies of each contest before including it. Ours is the most trusted resource for legitimate writing contests available anywhere.
Winning Writers
Cash Prize: $3,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 5/1/25
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Backwaters Press
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $32
Application Deadline: 5/1/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $2,000 and publication by Backwaters Press, an imprint of University of Nebraska Press, is given annually for a poetry collection. An honorable mention prize of $1,...
read moreNoemi Press
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 5/1/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $2,000 and publication by Noemi Press is given annually for a poetry collection. The editors will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript...
read moreInterlochen Center for the Arts
Cash Prize: $25,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 5/1/25
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $25,000 and a two- to three-day residency at Interlochen Center for the Arts in Interlochen, Michigan, is given annually for a book of fiction or nonfiction...
read moreMoon City Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $27
Application Deadline: 5/1/25
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication by Moon City Press are given annually for a poetry collection and a short story collection. The editors will judge. Using only the...
read moreAtlanta Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $16
Application Deadline: 5/1/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Atlanta Review is given annually for a single poem. Using only the online submission system, submit up to five poems of any length...
read moreBreakwater Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 5/1/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Breakwater Review is given annually for a single poem. Submit up to three poems of any length with a $10 entry fee by May 1. All...
read moreHigh Desert Museum
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 5/1/25
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $3,000 is given annually for a work of nonfiction that recognizes “the vital role deserts play worldwide in the ecosystem and the human narrative.” The winner is...
read moreF(r)iction
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 5/2/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 is given biannually for a short story. Using only the online submission system, submit a story of 1,001 to 7,500 words with a $15 entry fee by May 2. All...
read moreWriter’s Digest
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 5/5/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $5,000, an interview in Writer’s Digest, and an all-expenses-paid trip to the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference is given annually for a single poem, a short...
read moreAcademy of American Poets
Cash Prize: $25,000
Entry Fee: $75
Application Deadline: 5/15/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $25,000 is given annually for a poetry collection by a living poet published in the United States during the previous year. The winner also receives a 10-day...
read moreLeeway Foundation
Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 5/15/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Awards of $15,000 each are given annually to women, transgender, and/or gender-nonconforming poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers in the Philadelphia area...
read moreGeorgia Review
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 5/15/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Georgia Review is given for a single poem. Brandon Som will judge. Submit up to three poems totaling no more than 10 pages with a $...
read moreAcademy of American Poets
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 5/15/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a second book of poetry by a living poet to be published in the next calendar year. The winner also receives an all-expenses-paid...
read moreLost Horse Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 5/15/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Lost Horse Press, and 20 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection by a U.S. poet. Using only the online submission system,...
read moreCrook’s Corner Book Prize Foundation
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $35
Application Deadline: 5/15/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a debut novel primarily set in the American South. Authors living anywhere are eligible. Self-published books are accepted, but books...
read morePittsburg State University
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 5/15/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Pittsburg State University, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Rebecca Gayle Howell will judge. Submit a manuscript...
read moreTrio House Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 5/15/25
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000, publication by Trio House Press, and 20 author copies is given annually for a book of nonfiction by a writer living in the United States. The editors will...
read moreAmerican Poetry Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 5/15/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in American Poetry Review is given annually for a single poem by a poet under the age of 40. The editors will judge. Submit up to three...
read morePloughshares
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 5/15/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $2,000 each and publication in Ploughshares are given annually for a poem or group of poems, a short story, and an essay. Each winner also receives a...
read moreGaudy Boy
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 5/19/25
Genre: Poetry
A grant of $1,500 and publication by Gaudy Boy, an imprint of the New York City–based literary nonprofit Singapore Unbound, is given annually for a poetry collection by a...
read moreNew Letters
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $24
Application Deadline: 5/19/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $2,500 each and publication in New Letters are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Using only the online submission system, submit up...
read moreGreat Lakes Colleges Association
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 5/25/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes are given annually for first books by a poet, a fiction writer, and a creative nonfiction writer. The winners each receive an all-expenses-paid trip to several of...
read moreLivingston Press
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 5/30/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Cross-Genre
A prize of $500, publication by Livingston Press, and 20 author copies is given annually for a novel-in-verse. Eleanor Boudreau will judge. Submit a manuscript of 90 to 160...
read moreBridge Book Award
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 5/31/25
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Two prizes of up to $5,000 each will be given annually for a book of fiction and a book of creative nonfiction by U.S. citizens or permanent residents published in the previous...
read more